Patients younger than 60 years who have diabetes should be routinely vaccinated against hepatitis B virus, and physicians should consider hepatitis B vaccinations for older patients with diabetes, according to new recommendations from advisors to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) mark the latest effort to curb the elevated rate of hepatitis B infection among patients with diabetes. Additional recommendations include expansion of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine coverage among boys and young men and a shift from vaccinating new mothers against pertussis postpartum to vaccinating them during pregnancy. The ACIP has also announced it would make its deliberations more transparent by instituting an evidence grading system for the research backing each recommendation.